Over the just concluded Sunday, I was invited to dine at a dinner engagement, by a distant relative, whose daughter was marrying one of the many software engineers, who seem to populate Bangalore.
This short piece is neither about software engineers or even Bangalore, but more about the dinner which was a buffet.
The menu was various and interesting, but the place resembled a mela. I'm sure you get what I mean.
Behaviour at public spaces is a reflection of our culture & I could not resist placing this piece, on my blog.
Buffets are a cost-effective and quick way to serve meals to large numbers and hence, extremely popular at corporate events and in restaurants. While buffets may seem like a free-for-all, the rules of etiquette still apply.
Queues at a buffet can be annoying, as everyone wants to serve themselves first but do politely wait your turn instead of sneaking up to the counter. Wait for the food to be replenished instead of scraping the dishes. Eating while waiting your turn or serving is avoidable behavior. Buffets serve larger numbers and are not to be compared with the experience associated with fine-dining in a sit-down meal. While standing in the queue, stop complaining about the food or caterer or the long wait as it is impolite to the host. Instead use this time to network or chat with the others waiting with you.
Use the serving spoon or tongs to serve yourself and not your fingers. Resist the urge to pop that papad directly into your mouth, no matter how tempting it looks. One serving spoon per dish is provided and should be replaced on the holder or back in the dish. Avoid accidents and spillages by bringing your plate close to the serving dish. When deciding what to eat, don't sniff the food, instead take a small amount and return if you like it. For hygiene and safety purposes, avoid leaning over the dishes while serving yourself.
Avoid sampling all dishes and over-loading your plate. Instead, exercise choice and serve limited portions of select dishes, such that the food is neatly arranged on your plate and presents an appetizing picture.
Buffet Courtesies: Buffets are self-serve meals but the buffet counter staff needs to be thanked if they serve you. The clearance staff have an extremely tough job and need to be thanked when taking away the used plate from you.
3 comments:
Hello Captain!!!
Appa sent me the link to your blog, nice to find family in the bogging world.
Nicely written, though I wish to say a few things.
Buffet etiquette also requires you to change your plate everytime you need to pick something. Is this possible in a huge gathering?
In India we eat with our fingers, so commonsense says we need to wash our hand before each serving. Can this happen?
People crowd their plates, not because of greed, but because they dont want to go to the table again.
Essentially buffet isnt a good alternative for Indian crowds, not because of the lack of culture you have mentioned, mainly because it doest suit our menu.
I agree with you, but also want to say considering the constrains of time and huge population, the host should make a call on whether buffet is a good alternative or not.
ps: Please remove the word verification on the comment section.(if you dont mind,that is)
and looks like your feeling that engineers are dime a dozen in Bangalore hasnt changed :-)
Well said Captain. It was a good read. It is amusing to look at how otherwise well behaved people get excited at Buffets.
Hi,
Nice to see you on my blog.
Some clarification please.
I did not comment on India's culture at large. I said poor, ungainly & distatsteful eating habits, in public, reflects a persons individual culture.
People 'crowding' plates to preclude them from making trips to the serving table maybe indicates not gluttony but sloth. Both are fairly high up on the list of undesireable practices.
I have not come accross the practice of renewing your plate everytime, you serve yourself a new dish, either in India, Asia, Africa or Europe. This I speak from personal experience.
Finally, nothing, has occured to alter my opinion, on the quality & quantity of engineers, in India. I guess you know what the opinion is,as well as what much of Industry thinks on this issue, so I rest my case.
Finally, I guess, when you choose to serve, a sizeable population of people, unless you have the logistics to take care of a sit down dinner, a buffet may be the most suitable and appropriate choice.
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